1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to integrated circuits and methods for manufacturing such integrated circuits. More particularly, the present invention relates to semiconductor devices with multiple gates and non-uniform doping profiles in the channel region of those devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Current semiconductor chips feature technology with circuit feature sizes in the range of 130 nanometers, with components manufactured with technologies having 90 nanometer feature sizes just beginning to reach the marketplace. Industry plans are to deliver 65 nanometer technologies in the year 2007, 45 nanometer technologies in the year 2010, 32 nanometer technologies in the year 2013 and 22 nanometer technologies in the year 2016. This schedule was set forward in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) defined by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in 2001. The schedule translates to smaller chip dimensions earlier in time than had been previously thought. Among the main transistor scaling issues to be solved is the need for thinner gate oxides that result in a higher on-current and hence increased switching speed in semiconductor devices; a smaller off-current and lower threshold voltage to allow such gate oxide scaling, and the use of lower supply voltages; a higher channel mobility; and smaller series resistance of the source/drain regions. In order to meet these forecasted stringent scaling requirements, non-classical Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) devices and alternative materials, such as metal gate materials and high dielectric constant (high-k) gate dielectrics are currently under investigation.
One non-classical CMOS device is so-called Fin Field Effect Transistors (FinFETs). In a FinFET, the gate at least partially envelops the channel region in multiple planes, as compared to a classic planar CMOS device where the gate electrode is formed in a single plane on top of the channel region, where the channel region is part of the substrate.
A double gate FinFET made by using the sidewalls of a dry-etched silicon (Si) fin as conducting channels was discussed by D. Hisamoto et al. in “A folded-channel MOSFET for deep-sub-tenth Micron Era” in the IEDM Technical Digest 1998 pp. 1032–1034. In such FinFETs, a thin gate line straddles a thin silicon channel fin. Bin Yu et al, discusses an alternative process to manufacture a FinFET device in “FinFET scaling to 10 nm Gate Length”, IEDM Technical Digest 8–11 Dec., 2002 pp. 251–254. For the process described by Yu et al., polysilicon is used as a gate electrode material and the channel of the device is uniformly lightly doped.
While is possible for a FinFET be manufactured in a near-planar fashion, such that the manufacturing is compatible with traditional CMOS processing technologies, the performance of FinFET devices manufactured in such a fashion is typically inferior to traditional planar CMOS transistors manufactured with the same processing technology. The respective performance of such devices (FinFET versus planar CMOS) may be indicated by various parameters such as the sub-threshold swing (S, mV/dec), which is the variation of drive current with gate voltage for gate voltages below the transistor threshold voltage (Vt), the maximum or saturation drive current (Ion), the off state-current or leakage current (Ioff), the threshold voltage roll-off (ΔVt) expressing the dependency of the threshold voltage on channel length (Lg) and drain voltage (Vds).
Two approaches are currently being employed to improve the performance (as measured by such parameters) of FinFET devices manufactured using CMOS technologies. A first approach is to increase the dopant concentration level (Nfin) of the fin. Although this approach yields a low sub-threshold slope and a controllable threshold voltage, during operation, when inversion occurs near the surface of the fin, the carrier mobility is degraded due to ionized impurity scattering. This results in a lower saturation current, which slows down the device and reduces its performance. Further, in such an approach, threshold voltage roll-off will be more pronounced, as the highly doped fin will typically not become fully depleted during operation.
A second approach involves reducing the fin doping concentration level Nfin and developing a tunable work-function gate technology. Such an approach is described by Yang-Kyu Choi et al. in “FinFET Process Refinements for Improved Mobility and Gate Work Function Engineering” in IEDM 2002 Digest International, 8–11 Dec., 2002, pp. 259–262. Apart from forming a high quality interface between the fin and the gate dielectric, the mobility of the carriers may be improved by lowly doping the fin resulting in less ionized impurity scattering and, hence, in a larger saturation current. Further, the lowly doped fin also increases the immunity of the threshold voltage to fluctuations in the dopant distribution profile.
However, because of the low doping of the fin, the threshold voltage is determined by the work function of the gate electrode, which must then be carefully selected in order to obtain the desired threshold voltage for either n-type or p-type FinFETs. This approach is cumbersome, as only a limited selection of materials is available, thereby still requiring additional efforts to tune the work function of these materials to the desired value. The introduction of such materials increases the manufacturing process complexity as additional process steps may be employed.
Still further, the low doping concentration of the fin results in a higher sub-threshold slope and, consequently, in increased leakage current and increased power consumption as is described in “A Comprehensive Model Analytical Sub-threshold Swing (S) Model for Double-gate MOSFETs” by Qiang Chen et al, in IEEE Transactions on Electronic Devices, Vol. 49, No. 6, Jun. 2002, p. 1086. Based on the foregoing, alternative FinFET devices and methods for manufacturing FinFET devices that improve their performance without degrading other device parameters such as sub-threshold slope, saturation current, leakage current and threshold voltage roll-off are desirable.